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Yeniseian

[ yen-uh-sey-uhn ]

noun

  1. a group of languages spoken in Siberia, the only surviving member of which is Ket.


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Word History and Origins

Origin of Yeniseian1

Yenisei + -an, translation of Russian yeniséĭskiĭ
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Example Sentences

In a paper published in the journal PLoS One on Wednesday, they report their surprising finding that Na-Dene is not a descendant of Yeniseian, as would be expected if the Yeniseian speakers in Siberia were the source population of the Na-Dene migration.

In particular, he looked at Yeniseian and Na-Dene verbs, since languages in both groups have a template of fixed positions before and after the verb for specifying various attributes.

If Yeniseian represents a return migration from Beringia, the question of the source population in Siberia of Native Americans is thrust back into obscurity.

“If Yeniseian is off the table as a back-migration, there is no other candidate,” Dr. Sicoli said.

But in 2008, Edward Vajda, a linguist at Western Washington University, said he had documented a relationship between Yeniseian, a group of mostly extinct languages spoken along the Yenisei River in central Siberia, and Na-Dene.

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YeniseiYenisei Ostyak